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Coal burning would have to drop to between zero and 2pct by 2050 - IPCC

Coal News - Published on Thu, 11 Oct 2018

Coal burning would have to drop to between zero and 2pct by 2050 - IPCC

Coal burning would have to drop to between zero and 2pct by 2050 - IPCC

Reuters reported that coal-fired power has to end by 2050 to save the planet. That seemingly simple but bold sentiment is likely to set much of the political, social and economic agenda for the coming decades, but in the end it will come down to what China does. The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said in a report that “unprecedented” changes will have to take place to limit the rise in the Earth’s temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit), warning of devastating weather events and species loss if the target is exceeded. In order to achieve the goal, the IPCC said coal burning would have to drop to between zero and 2 percent by 2050, while even natural gas, coupled with carbon capture and storage (CCS), would have to decline to 8 percent of electricity generation by the middle of this century.

While coal has long been the bogeyman of climate activists, the IPCC has effectively thrown down the gauntlet and given world leaders a little over 30 years to phase it out entirely.

Initial reaction to the IPCC report has been predictable, with supporters of renewable energy cheering it, and backers of fossil fuels resorting to the familiar arguments that somehow the science is either wrong or a hoax.

Australia’s Environment Minister Melissa Price told ABC radio that the IPCC was “drawing a long bow” by calling for an end to coal by 2050, and touted new technologies as a way of saving the polluting fuel. Australia is the world’s largest exporter of coal and relies on the fuel for more than 70 percent of its electricity generation.

Price isn’t alone in touting CCS and other technologies, with the World Coal Association responding to the IPCC report by saying in a statement on its website that CCS is “vital” and that the coal lobby group will push for it to be adopted.